Air operated gun

ABSTRACT

An air operated pellet gun for use in shooting pellets such as iron or steel BB&#39;&#39;s can be constructed in such a manner that the barrel and handle of the gun may be pivoted relative to one another in order to &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;cock&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; a piston in a cylinder against the pressure of a spring. The piston is connected to the trigger of the gun in such a manner that when the barrel and handle are returned to a normal operative position the trigger may be actuated so as to release the piston. When this occurs the spring will move the piston in the air cylinder to cause compressed air to flow through an unobstructed conduit to the breach end. The pellet is preferably held in such a breach end by a retention means in such a manner that it will not be released so as to be propelled through the barrel by the compressed air, until the pressure of the air in back of the pellet is greater than the pressure of the air in the barrel in front of the pellet. Means are provided for feeding a new pellet into the breach end of the barrel each time it is cocked.

United States Patent Pitcher, deceased Oct. 21, 1975 AIR OPERATED GUN [75] Inventor: Kenneth R. Pitcher, deceased, late of Encino, Calif by Ethel J, Pitcher, administratrix [73] Assignee: Heallhways, Los Angeles, Calif.

[22} Filed: July 30, 1973 [21} Applv No.: 384,070

[52] US. Cl. 124/15; 124/41; 124/50 [51] Int. Cl. H F41B 11/00 [58] Field 01 Search [24/13 A 15 41 49,50

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 995.146 6/l9ll Jeffries .l 124/15 2.3061568 12/1942 Stevens 1 l 1, 1124/15 3,142,294 7/1964 Baldwimlr l 124/15 3273553 9/1966 Doyle .1 124/41 X 3,463,l36 8/1969 Vadas et 124/41 X 3.763.843 l()/l973 Fisher et al. l24/l3 A Primary ExaminerRichard C Pinkham Assistant ExaminerR. T. Stouffer Attorney, Agent, or FirmEdward D. OBrian [57] ABSTRACT An air operated pellet gun for use in shooting pellets such as iron or steel BBs can be constructed in such a manner that the barrel and handle of the gun may he pivoted relative to one another in order to cock" a piston in a cylinder against the pressure of a spring. The piston is connected to the trigger of the gun in such a manner that when the barrel and handle are returned to a normal operative position the trigger may be actuated so as to release the piston. When this occurs the spring will move the piston in the air cylinder to cause compressed air to flow through an unob structed conduit to the breach end The pellet is pref erably held in such a breach end by a retention means in such a manner that it will not be released so as to be propelled through the barrel by the compressed air, until the pressure of the air in back of the pellet is greater than the pressure of the air in the barrel in front of the pellet. Means are provided for feeding a new pellet into the breach and of the barrel each time it is cocked.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent 0a. 21, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,913,554

U.S. Patent 0a. 21, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,913,554

AIR OPERATED GUN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention set forth in this specification pertains to new and improved pneumatic or air operated pellet guns and primarily to guns of the so-called 38" type.

The field of pneumatically operated pellet guns is surprisingly old. Many different types of guns have been developed which use a compressed gas such as compressed air for the purpose of propelling a pellet or BB. An understanding of the present invention does not require a detailed discussion of much of this prior art. It does, however, require the consideration of certain problems which have been encountered in the field of pneumatically operated guns.

One of these problems pertains to simplicity of construction. Normally pneumatically operated guns have been constructed so as to utilize a valve structure to cause a sudden release of a compressed gas such as compressed air to the back of a gun barrel where the force of the gas will engage a projectile so as to force the projectile through the gun barrel. Such valves are considered to be unnecessarily expensive and tend to limit the effectiveness of a pneumatically operated gun. This is related to the distance that a pellet will be propelled from a gun.

Another of the problems which has been encountered in the field of pneumatically operated pellet guns pertains to the development of adequate gas pressure in such a gun. Although it is possible to use a tank of compressed gas to operate pneumatically operated guns this is comparatively disadvantageous because of the size of an air tank suitable for repeated gun operation and the portability of such a tank. The necessity for using such a source of compressed gas has been circumvented in many prior guns by utilizing pump mechanisms. As previously constructed such pump mechanisms have tended to be somewhat difficult to use and- /or unnecessarily expensive.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As a result of these and various related factors, it is considered that there is need for improvement in the field of pneumatically operated pellet guns. A broad generalized objective of the invention is to provide new and improved pellet guns to fill this need. More specifically, however, the invention is intended to provide guns as indicated which are more desirable than prior related guns because of their simplicity and because of the ease with which they may be used. The invention is also directed towards teaching the construction of guns which are extremely effective in use in propelling a projectile a significant distance in-spite of the simplicity of their construction.

In accordance with this invention a gun having a barrel, means for locating a pellet in the breach end of the barrel, means for supplying a compressed gas to the breach end of the L rel and a trigger means for controlling when the compressed gas is supplied to the breach end of the barrel is constructed so as to include certain improvements as here in after indicated. One of these is constructing the means for supplying this gas as two members defining a compression chamber and a spring for causing relative motion between the members so as to decrease the internal volume of this chamber. A latch means is employed so as to hold the member and spring means so that the internal volume of the chamber is capable of being decreased. The trigger means is connected to the latch means so that when the trigger is actuated the latch is released, allowing the spring means to decrease the internal volume of the chamber so as to compress the air within the chamber. An unobstructed conduit means is preferably employed in a gun of this invention to convey the gas so compressed back of the projectile so as to propel the projectile out of gun barrel.

Preferably a gun of this invention utilizes a retention means for holding a pellet in the breach end of the barrel until the pressure of the gas admitted into the barrel exceeds the pressure on the side of the pellet in the barrel remote from the gas inlet to a significant degree. This is considered to be quite important in obtaining a structure which will propel the pellet to a maximum extent with a minimum amount of compressed gas. This feature can be employed with pneumatically operated guns which do not have an unobstructed conduit from a gas compressing structure although this is not considered to be normally desired. Thus, this invention can be employed with guns which have a valve structure for controlling the admission of a compressed gas into the breach end of the barrel.

Preferably a gun as indicated is also constructed so that the barrel and the handle of the gun may be pivoted with respect to one another prior to its use or after the gun has been fired so as to move the members of the compression chamber in order to enlarge the internal volume of the compression chamber and in order to place the spring means under compression. The latch means employed preferably automatically holds these members in such an expanded compression chamber position after the gun and the barrel have been moved as indicated. This method of cocking" is quite effective in hand guns or pistols and is considered to enable such a gun to be cocked to an operative position through the effective use of leverage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Unfortunately a summary such as the preceding is inherently incapable of adequately indicating many items of importance relative to an invention such as the one set forth in this specification. Other advantages and features of this invention will be apparent from a careful consideration of the remainder of this specification, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged side elevational view of a presently preferred embodiment or form of an air operated pellet gun of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial side view corresponding to FIG. 1 of this gun with a side of the housing of this gun removed showing the position of parts of the gun prior to the gun being cocked;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken at line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view taken at a plane parallel to the side of the gun illustrated in FIG. I showing certain parts of the gun illustrated in the preceding figures when thegun is cocked;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the same type as FIG. 4 showing other parts of the gun that are illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 indicating the location or orientation of certain parts as the gun is being cocked; and

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing the principal parts of the gun as this gun is being cocked.

It must be emphasized that the gun illustrated is only a single embodiment of a gun in accordance with this invention constructed so as to utilize the essentially intangible concepts of the invention verbally defined in the appended claims. Those skilled in the art of pneumatically operated guns will readily realize these concepts may be effectively utilized in other somewhat differently constructed and/or differently appearing guns through the use or exercise of routine design skill in this field.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The gun 10 illustrates in the various figures of the drawings is constructed so as to include a handle housing 12 shaped in the familiar manner of a pistol or hand gun handle and a barrel housing 14 shaped in the familiar manner of the barrel of such a pistol or hand gun. These two housings l2 and 14 are connected by means of a pivot pin 16 located at the breach end 18 of the barrel housing 14. When the housing I2 and 14 are connected in this manner the barrel housing 14 extends along generally a top portion 20 of the housing handle 12 which is open towards the barrel housing 14.

Within the interior of this barrel housing 14 an elongated tubular barrel 22 is supported so as to be open at the muzzle end 24 of the barrel housing 14. This barrel 22 is directly supported at this muzzle end 22 by the barrel housing 14 itself. The other end of the barrel 14 is supported upon a breach fitting 26 which is secured to the interior of the barrel housing I4. This breach fitting 26 has an internal bore 28 constituting an extension of the interior of the barrel 22. A small feed passage 30 leads into the interior of the bore 28 adjacent to the end of the fitting 26 remote from the barrel 22. An air passage 32 also leads into the bore 28 a short distance towards the barrel 22 from the feed passage 30.

From this description it will be seen the barrel housing 14 has a hollow interior 34 surrounding the barrel 22. When the gun It) is to be cocked so as to be ready for use the barrel housing 14 is pivoted relative to the housing 12 about the pin 16 to a position as shown in FIG. 7. At this time a small loading chute 36 mounted on the botton of the barrel housing 14 is pivoted outwardly on pivot pins 38 so as to gain access to the interior of the barrel housing 14. Next, a large number of pellets 40 such as common steel BBs may be located within the interior 14 through the chute 36. Preferably the pivot pins 38 exert enough friction so that a separate latch (not shown) is not required to hold the chute 36 so that it is closed after the pellets 40 have been located within the barrel housing 14. If desired, however, any conventional type of latch structure may be used to hold the chute 36 either open or closed or both.

When the pellets 40 have been located within the barrel housing 14 as shown they will fall within this housing 14 so that one at a time they move through the feed passage 30 into the bore 28. Such movement can, however, only occur when the housings l2 and 14 are located relative to one another as shown in FIG. 7 with the housing 14 extended substantially vertically. In this open position a breach block 44 is withdrawn from the bore 28 of the fitting 26 as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 to a sufficient extent so that a small magnet 46 is ex posed. This magnet 46 is mounted so that one pole of it is extended so as to pick up and hold a pellet 40. In order to minimize the possibility of interference with the operation of the magnet 46 it is preferred to form the breach block 44 of a non-magnetic composition which magnetically isolates the magnet 46 from various other parts of the gun 10.

This breach block 44 includes a sloping shoulder 48 adjacent to the magnet 46 which is adapted to facilitate its insertion into the bore 28 to a closed position as the barrel housing 14 is rotated relative to the handle housing 12 from a position as shown in FIG. 7 to a position as shown in FIG. I. When the breach block 44 is in the closed position as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4 a cylinder 50 on it adjacent to the shoulder 48 seals off the bore 28 and in addition the magnet 46 supports a pellet 40 as shown in FIG. 4 so that this pellet 40 is located towards the barrel 22 a short distance from the air pas sage 32. When the breach block 44 is in this closed position ample room is provided around the magnet 46. Preferably a pellet 40 held in this position is of a category which fits closely within the bore 28 but which is loose enough within this bore 28 so as to be capable of moving freely within it.

The movement of the breach block 44 between the two positions indicated is automatically correlated in the gun 10 with what may be loosely regarded as the cocking mechanism actuated during movement of the handle and barrel housings l2 and 14. Such movement is accompanied by the rotation of two parallel extensions 52 on the barrel housing I4 between positions as shown in FIGSv 2 and 7. A link 54 is carried between and by these two extensions 52 by means of a pivot pin 56. This link 54 rotates during such rotation between the housings l2 and 14 with respect to an end 58 of a crank arm 60. This crank arm 60 has, remote from the end 58, a circular bearing 62 which fits around the pivot pin 16 in such a manner that the crank arm 60 is capable of being rotated about this pivot pin 16 when the end 58 is engaged or pushed by the link 54. The crank arm 60 is connected to a terminal yoke 64 on the breach block 44 by means of another link 66 by the use of further pivots 68. A small coil spring 70 is located around the cylinder 50 between the fitting 26 and the yoke 64 so as to insure the movement of the breach block 44 to a position as shown in FIG. 2 to a position as shown in FIG. 7.

Such rotation will draw the link 54 upwardly generally towards the top portion 20. This motion is transmitted to a carriage 72 by a pivot 74 connecting the carriage 72 with the link 54. The carriage 72 included parallel, elongated, flat extensions 76 which fit within parallel elongated slots 78 in the handle housing 12. Two generally triangular plates 80 extend from the car riage 72 generally across the interior of the handle housing 12. Preferably these plates 80 carry abutting cross walls 82 which fit within another slot 84 in the handle housing 12 and extend towards the extensions 76. It will be realized that the carriage 72 is securely held so that it can only move linearly along the length of the handle housing 12.

A pivot pin 86 extends between the plates 80 and carries a rotatable latching lever 88. This latching lever 88 has a hook shaped end 90 which is dimensioned so as to be capable of fitting closely within a groove 92 in a piston rod 94. This piston rod 94 is rigidly attached to a piston 96 which in turn closely fits within a cylinder 98. A conventional coil spring 100 is held under compression between this piston 96 and the cross walls 82 so as to normally tend to bias the piston 96 towards a closed end of the cylinder 98 in a position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. In this position a small axially aligned extension 104 on the piston 96 fits within an axially aligned cavity 106 at the closed end 102 of a cylinder 98. A small conventional seal ring 108 is located around the piston in contact with the cylinder 98 to prevent the escape of air past it. A small rubber or similar disc 110 is located on the extension 104 for the pur pose of abutting against the interior of the cavity 106 so as to cushion any shock resulting from the piston 96 being propelled to a position as shown in either FIG. 2 or 7 by the action of the coil spring 100.

The cylinder 98 is held in place by fitting closely against the interior of the handle housing 12. Appropriate internal brackets 112 are provided within the interior of the housing 12 for this purpose. Certain of these brackets 112 engage extending ears 114 on the closed end 102 of the cylinder 98 in order to prevent rotation of this cylinder 98 as it is held in place. One of these cars 114 carries a small coil spring 116 in such a manner that this spring 116 extends from the end 102. This spring 116 is located so that it will engage the end 58 of the crank arm 60 when the handle and barrel housings l2 and 14, respectively, are rotated relative to one another from a position as shown in FIG. 7 to a position as shown in FIG. 2.

Within the gun a conventional trigger 118 is mounted by means of pivots 120 on the housing handle 12 so that its finger portion 122 extends into a conventional trigger guard 124 formed as part of the handle housing 12. This trigger 118 is of bell crank type shape and includes an extending end 126 which fits within a cavity 128 in an actuater 130. This fit is of such a character as to permit restricted linear movement of the actuator 130 when the trigger 118 is pulled. The actuator 130 is of a flat, plate like configuration and is mounted in parallel, linear grooves 132 in the handle housing 12 so as to accommodate such linear movement. The extremity 134 of the actuator 130 remote from the cavity 128 carries an extending lug 136 which is adapted to engage an end 138 of the larching lever 88 remote from the hooked end 90 so as to cause rotation of this latching lever 88.

Linear movement of the actuator 130 and of the trigger 118 can be prevented during the use of the gun 10 by means of a sliding safety catch 140 mounted in a conventional manner on the handle housing 12. When this safety catch 140 is in a safety position a small button 142 on it extends into the interior of the housing handle 12 so that the actuator 130 cannot be moved linearly upward from a position as shown in FIG. 7. When the safety catch 140 is slid to a firing position this button 142 is spaced slightly from the actuator 130 so as to permit this actuator 130 to move upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 7.

When it is desired to utilize the gun 10 a small clamping lever 144 extending from the interior of the handle housing 12 through the top portion adjacent to the barrel housing 14 is rotated from a normal locked position as shown in FIG. 5 in solid lines to an open position as shown by the dotted lines in this same figure. Such rotation is about a pivot 146 mounting the lever 144 on the handle housing 12. As this lever 144 is rotated from the solid line position shown in FIG. 5 to the dotted line position shown in this figure a notch 148 in it disengages a lug 150 on the handle housing 12, releasing the two housings 12 and 14 so that it is manually possible to rotate them relative to one another to a position as shown in FIG. 7.

Concurrently such a rotation of a lever 144 releases a cam surface 152 on the lever 144 from engagement with a pin 154 on an auxiliary safety lever 156. This lever 156 is rotatably mounted on the handle housing 12 about pivot 158 so that a small coil spring 160 disposed between it and the handle housing 12 will tend to automatically rotate this safety lever 156 to a posi tion in which it will block movement of the trigger 118 of the type used to fire the gun It). This is to prevent the trigger 118 from being actuated as the gun 10 is being cocked.

As the barrel and handle housings l4 and 12, respectively. are rotated relative to one another about the pivot pin 16 the link 54 will transfer this motion to the carriage 72 drawing this carriage upwardly within the handle housing 12. As this occurs the entire carriage 72 is moved until the piston rod 94 engages the latching iever 88 and the coil spring 100 is compressed. such engagement will cause rotation of this latching lever 88 so as to cause the hooked end 90 to pivot a short distance into engagement with the groove 92. This will secure the piston 96 to the carriage 72.

After the piston 96 has been secured in this manner the handle and barrel housings 12 and 14, respectively, are rotated relative to one another back to their original relative positions. This movement is transmitted to the carriage 72 through the link 54 and causes the carriage 72 to move downwardly within the handle housing 12. As the carriage 72 moves in this manner it will, of course. pull the piston 96 within the cylinder 98 away from the closed end 102. As this occurs ambient air will be drawn in the interior of the cylinder 98 through a passage 168 in an elastomeric or rubber grommet 166 mounted in an opening 168 in the extention 104. As the rotation of the two housings 12 and 14 relative to one another continues a beveled end 170 on the grommet 166 will engage a correspondingly shaped, more or less funnel like entrance 172 to the air passage 32, and the grommet 166 will be placed under compression. This forms what may be regarded as a sealed unobstructed conduit consisting of the passage 162 and the air passage 32 leading from the interior of the cylinder 98 to the interior of the breach fitting 26.

During the relative rotation of handle and barrel housings l2 and 14 as indicated in the preceding the spring 116 will automatically engage the end 52 of the crankarm 60 and will be compressed. As this occurs the end 58 will be cushioned as it comes in contact with the ear 114 holding the spring 116. The pressure exerted on this end 58 will cause rotation of the crankarm 60. This movement will be transmitted through the link 54 so as to move the breach block 44 as previously described. The net effect of this will be to hold a pellet 40 within the breach block 44 as described in the preceding. The magnet 46 is preferably of such a strength that the pellet 40 will hold so that it will not fall or move in the barrel 22 during normal handling of the gun. Preferably this magnet 46 is significantly stronger than required to accomplish this effect.

As there is relative rotation between the handle and barrel housings 12 and 14, respectively, as described returning these housings 12 and 14 to a normal operativc position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the cam surface 152 will engage the pin 154 on the lever 156 so as to cause this lever 156 to be rotated to a position out of the way of normal movement of the trigger 118. After the two housings parts 12 and 14 are in such a normal operative position the clamping lever 144 may be rotated so as to bring the notch 148 into engagement with the lug 150 so as to secure the handle and barrel housings l2 and 14, respectively. The gun may then be regarded as cocked. Regardless of the position of the safety catch 140 the gun is ready to be fired when it is in this cocked position. At any time the safety catch 140 may be moved so that it will not impede linear movement of the actuator 130.

The gun 10 is fired in a conventional manner by pulling on the trigger 118. This rotates the trigger 118 and such movement is transmitted through the end 126 to the actuator 130 so as to pull this actuator 130 upwardly a short distance. As this occurs the lug 136 will hit against the end 138 of the latching lever 88. The force applied to the latching lever 88 in this manner will cause the latching lever to rotate above the pivot pin 86 to a sufficient extent to disengage the end 90 from the groove 92. As this disengagement occurs the coil spring 100 will propel the piston 96 within the cylinder 98 so as to decrease the internal volume within this cylinder 98. This, of course, will cause the air in the cylinder 98 to be compressed.

This compressed air will flow through the passage 162 in the grommet 166 and thence through the air passage 32 into the bore 28 of the breach fitting 26 immediately in back of the pellet 40 in this bore 28. When, as preferred, this pellet 40 fits reasonably close within the interior of the bore 28 comparatively little of this air will escape through the barrel 22 around the pellet 40 until the air pressure in the breach fitting 26 around the magnet 48 builds up to an extent sufficient to overcome the holding power of this magnet 46 on the pellet 40 being shot. At this point the differential in air pressure on both sides of the pellet 40 within the bore 28 will be sufficiently great so that as the pellet 40 is released it will be effectively shot with a maximum amount of air pressure propelling it.

This feature is considered as quite important to the invention. The magnet 46 serves as a "retention means" to retain a pellet 40 being shot until there is significant air pressure developed to overcome the holding force of this retention means. As this retention means releases the pellet 40 it is propelled at a comparatively high velocity because in the gas pressure buildup caused by the retention means. Other similar retention means capable of quickly releasing a pellet after significant pressure buildup such as, for example, an elastomeric washer mounted so as to extend around the interior of the bore 28 in the breach fitting 26 can be used to accomplish this same purpose. The magnet 46 is, however, considered preferable because of its holding action with respect to a pellet 40. This action prevents the pellet 40 from movement within the bore 28 and serves to place a pellet 40 in a position where an effective air pressure differential can be achieved.

Although it is possible to use a retention means such as a magnet 46 in connection with a pneumatically operated gun in which a valve is used to control the release of a compressed gas used to propel a projectile this is considered disadvantageous. Such valves are comparatively expensive, occasionally do not work in a proper manner and tend to lead to a pressure drop due to a friction as the compressed gas flows through them. For these reasons the gun 10 as shown uses an unobstructed passage from the source used to supply compressed air to the breach fitting 26in back ofa pellet 40. This significantly simplifies the construction involved while making it possible to provide a gun 10 which effectively shoots a projectile over a comparatively long distance.

With the gun 10 the piston 96, the cylinder 98 and the coil spring 100 can be regarded as a means" for supplying a compressed gas to the breach fitting 26 and the barrel 22. The space within the cylinder 98 between the piston 96 and the closed end 102 may be regarded as a compression chamber which may be increased in volume as as the gun 10 is cocked and which may be decreased in internal volume when the spring 100 is released so as to move the piston 96. this particular piston and cylinder structure described is considered prefe rably as a means for supplying a compressed gas because of its simplicity and effectiveness. It will be recognized that other equivalent structures such as bellows like structures can be utilized for the same purpose.

I claim:

1. A pneumatically operated pellet gun having a bar rel, the breach end of said barrel being capable of receiving a pellet so that such a pellet fits closely within and is movable within said barrel, a breach fitting located at the breach end of said barrel, a compressing means for supplying a compressed gas to the breach fitting in back of a pellet located therein and a trigger means for actuating said means for supplying so that a compressed gas is supplied to the breach end of said barrel in which the improvement comprises:

storage means for storing a quantity of pellets around said barrel, said storage means having a discharge opening leading from the interior thereof into the breach fitting,

breach block means for controlling entry of pellets from said storage means into the interior of said breach fitting, said breach block means being mounted rearwardly of said barrel and being movable relative to the breach fitting between a first position in which said discharge opening is covered by said breach block means and a second position in which said discharge opening is uncovered by said breach block means,

retention means for releasably holding a pellet in the breach end of said barrel until the force exerted on the pellet held exceeds the force exerted on the pellet by said retention means so that the initial flow of compressed gas to the breach end of said barrel will not cause movement of the pellet held and so that the pellet will be propelled through said barrel only after there has been a build up of compressed gas in the breach end of said barrel in back of the pellet,

said gun having a handle rotatably connected to said barrel at the breach end of said barrel,

first mechanical means for moving said breach block means between said first position and said second position in accordance with the position of said handle relative to said barrel,

said compressing means being entirely located within said handle,

other mechanical means for cocking said compressing means so that said compressing means is capable of supplying compressed air extending between said barrel and said handle, said other mechanical means being operative to cock said compressing means when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel relative to said handle, said other mechanical means including a movable car riage located within said handle and connected to part of said compressing means and link means connecting said carriage and said barrel. 2. A gun as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said compressing means comprises a cylinder, a piston movably mounted in cylinder, a spring capable of being held so as to be capable of being released to move said piston within said cylinder in order to compress air within said cylinder and latching means for holding said spring and said piston so that said spring and said piston can be released so that said spring will move said piston within said cylinder in order to compress air within said cylinder. 3. A gun as claimed in claim 2 wherein: said latching means is mounted on said carriage so as to engage said piston and said carriage is located-so as to compress said spring when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel with respect to said handle. 4. A pneumatically operated pellet gun having a handle, a barrel mounted on said handle so as to extend from said handle, compression means for compressing air and trigger means for controlling release of compressed air into the breach end of said barrel in which the improvement comprises:

said barrel and said handle being pivotally connected to one another at the breach end of said barrel so as to be capable of being rotated with respect to one another from a normal operative position,

said barrel including a breach fitting located at the breach end thereof,

storage means for storing a quantity of pellets located on said barrel so as to extend along the length of said barrel, said storage means including a discharge opening leading from the interior thereof into said breach fitting,

breach block meeans for controlling entry of pellets from said storage means into the interior of said breach fitting, said breach block means being mounted rearwardly of said barrel and being movable relative to said breach fitting between a first position in which said discharge opening is covered by said breach block means and a second position in which said discharge opening is uncovered by said breach block means,

first mechanical means for moving said breach block means between said first position and said second position in accordance with the position of said handle relative to said barrel,

said compressing means being located entirely within said handle,

other mechanical means connecting said barrel, said handle and said compressing means for rendering said compressing means operative to supply compressed air when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle,

said compressing means comprising a cylinder, a piston movably mounted in said cylinder, a spring capable of being held under compression against said piston so that when said spring is released said piston is moved by said spring to compress air within said cylinder, and

latching means for holding said piston so that said spring is held under compression, and including an unobstructed conduit leading from said compressing means to the breach of said barrel, and

retention means for releasably holding a pellet in the rel,

breach end of said barrel until the force exerted on the pellet by compressed air from said compressing means upon acutation of said trigger means exceeds the holding force on the pellet exerted by said retention means.

a pneumatically operated pellet gun having a barthe breach end of said barrel being capable of re' ceiving a pellet so that such a pellet fits closely within and is movable within said barrel, a means for supplying a compressed gas to the breach end of said barrel in back of a pellet located therein and a trigger means for actuating said means for supplying so that a compressed gas is supplied to the breach end of said barrel in which the improvement comprises:

retention means for releasably holding a pellet in the breach end of said barrel until the force exerted on the pellet held exceeds the force exerted on the pellet by said retention means so that the initial flow of compressed gas to the breach end of said barrel will not cause movement of the pellet held and so that the pellet will be propelled through said barrel only after there has been a build up of compressed gas in the breach end of said barrel in back of the pellet,

breach block movably mounted at the breach end of said barrel,

said breach block being movable between a retracted position in which a pellet may move into the breach end of said barreel and a closed position in which the breach block closes the breach end of said barrel,

handle rotatably connected to said barrel, and

wherein said retention means is a permanent magnet mounted on said breach block so as to be magnetically isolated from the remainder of said gun and so as to extend into the interior of said breach end of said barrel when said breach block is in such closed position,

said means for supplying compressed gas comprises,

a compressing means for compressing air and an unobstructed conduit leading to the breach end of said barrel,

said compressing means comprises a cylinder, a pissaid compressing means is entirely said unobstructed conduit is formed so part of said conduit is connected to said barrel and a part of said conduit is in said handle,

said gun also including,

sealing means for forming a seal against air leakage between said parts of said unobstructed conduit when said barrel is in a normal operative position in respect to said handle.

a carriage movably mounted within said handle,

a mechanical connection extending between said carriage and said barrel so that when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel with respect to said handle said carriage is moved with respect to said compressing means,

said latching means being mounted on said carriage and being capable of automatically engaging said piston rod when contacted by said piston rod dur ing movement of said carriage,

said carriage being located so as to compress said spring and to cause engagement of said latching means with said piston where there is relative rota tion between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel with respect to said handle,

said carriage being moved automatically by relative rotation between said barrel and said handle to a normal operative position of said barrel and with respect to said handle to a position in which said spring is held under compression against said piston so as to be capable of moving said piston with respect to said cylinder upon release of said piston by said latching means,

an actuator means connected to said trigger means for disengaging said latching means from said piston when said spring is held under compression. 

1. A pneumatically operated pellet gun having a barrel, the breach end of said barrel being capable of receiving a pellet so that such a pellet fits closely within and is movable within said barrel, a breach fitting located at the breach end of said barrel, a compressing means for supplying a compressed gas to the breach fitting in back of a pellet located therein and a trigger means for actuating said means for supplying so that a compressed gas is supplied to the breach end of said barrel in which the improvement comprises: storage means for storing a quantity of pellets around said barrel, said storage Means having a discharge opening leading from the interior thereof into the breach fitting, breach block means for controlling entry of pellets from said storage means into the interior of said breach fitting, said breach block means being mounted rearwardly of said barrel and being movable relative to the breach fitting between a first position in which said discharge opening is covered by said breach block means and a second position in which said discharge opening is uncovered by said breach block means, retention means for releasably holding a pellet in the breach end of said barrel until the force exerted on the pellet held exceeds the force exerted on the pellet by said retention means so that the initial flow of compressed gas to the breach end of said barrel will not cause movement of the pellet held and so that the pellet will be propelled through said barrel only after there has been a build up of compressed gas in the breach end of said barrel in back of the pellet, said gun having a handle rotatably connected to said barrel at the breach end of said barrel, first mechanical means for moving said breach block means between said first position and said second position in accordance with the position of said handle relative to said barrel, said compressing means being entirely located within said handle, other mechanical means for cocking said compressing means so that said compressing means is capable of supplying compressed air extending between said barrel and said handle, said other mechanical means being operative to cock said compressing means when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel relative to said handle, said other mechanical means including a movable carriage located within said handle and connected to part of said compressing means and link means connecting said carriage and said barrel.
 2. A gun as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said compressing means comprises a cylinder, a piston movably mounted in cylinder, a spring capable of being held so as to be capable of being released to move said piston within said cylinder in order to compress air within said cylinder and latching means for holding said spring and said piston so that said spring and said piston can be released so that said spring will move said piston within said cylinder in order to compress air within said cylinder.
 3. A gun as claimed in claim 2 wherein: said latching means is mounted on said carriage so as to engage said piston and said carriage is located so as to compress said spring when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel with respect to said handle.
 4. A pneumatically operated pellet gun having a handle, a barrel mounted on said handle so as to extend from said handle, compression means for compressing air and trigger means for controlling release of compressed air into the breach end of said barrel in which the improvement comprises: said barrel and said handle being pivotally connected to one another at the breach end of said barrel so as to be capable of being rotated with respect to one another from a normal operative position, said barrel including a breach fitting located at the breach end thereof, storage means for storing a quantity of pellets located on said barrel so as to extend along the length of said barrel, said storage means including a discharge opening leading from the interior thereof into said breach fitting, breach block meeans for controlling entry of pellets from said storage means into the interior of said breach fitting, said breach block means being mounted rearwardly of said barrel and being movable relative to said breach fitting between a first position in which said discharge opening is covered by said breach block means and a second position in which said discharge opening is uncovered by said breach block means, first mechanical means for moving said breach block means between said first position and said second position in accordance with the position of said handle relative to said barrel, said compressing means being located entirely within said handle, other mechanical means connecting said barrel, said handle and said compressing means for rendering said compressing means operative to supply compressed air when there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle, said compressing means comprising a cylinder, a piston movably mounted in said cylinder, a spring capable of being held under compression against said piston so that when said spring is released said piston is moved by said spring to compress air within said cylinder, and latching means for holding said piston so that said spring is held under compression, and including an unobstructed conduit leading from said compressing means to the breach of said barrel, and retention means for releasably holding a pellet in the breach end of said barrel until the force exerted on the pellet by compressed air from said compressing means upon acutation of said trigger means exceeds the holding force on the pellet exerted by said retention means.
 5. a pneumatically operated pellet gun having a barrel, the breach end of said barrel being capable of receiving a pellet so that such a pellet fits closely within and is movable within said barrel, a means for supplying a compressed gas to the breach end of said barrel in back of a pellet located therein and a trigger means for actuating said means for supplying so that a compressed gas is supplied to the breach end of said barrel in which the improvement comprises: retention means for releasably holding a pellet in the breach end of said barrel until the force exerted on the pellet held exceeds the force exerted on the pellet by said retention means so that the initial flow of compressed gas to the breach end of said barrel will not cause movement of the pellet held and so that the pellet will be propelled through said barrel only after there has been a build up of compressed gas in the breach end of said barrel in back of the pellet, a breach block movably mounted at the breach end of said barrel, said breach block being movable between a retracted position in which a pellet may move into the breach end of said barreel and a closed position in which the breach block closes the breach end of said barrel, a handle rotatably connected to said barrel, and wherein said retention means is a permanent magnet mounted on said breach block so as to be magnetically isolated from the remainder of said gun and so as to extend into the interior of said breach end of said barrel when said breach block is in such closed position, said means for supplying compressed gas comprises, a compressing means for compressing air and an unobstructed conduit leading to the breach end of said barrel, said compressing means comprises a cylinder, a piston movably mounted in said cylinder, a spring capable of being held so as to be capable of being released to move said piston within said cylinder in order to compress air within said cylinder and latching means for holding said spring and said piston so that said spring and said piston can be released so that said spring will move said piston within said cylinder in order to compress air within said cylinder, said compressing means is entirely located within said handle, said unobstructed conduit is formed so part of said conduit is connected to said barrel and a part of said conduit is in said handle, said gun also including, sealing means for forming a seal against air leakage between said parts of said unobstructed conduit when said barrel is in a normal operative position in respect to said handle, a carriage movably mounted within said handle, a mechanical connection extending between said carriage and said barrel so that when there is relative rotation between said barrel aNd said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel with respect to said handle said carriage is moved with respect to said compressing means, said latching means being mounted on said carriage and being capable of automatically engaging said piston rod when contacted by said piston rod during movement of said carriage, said carriage being located so as to compress said spring and to cause engagement of said latching means with said piston where there is relative rotation between said barrel and said handle from a normal operative position of said barrel with respect to said handle, said carriage being moved automatically by relative rotation between said barrel and said handle to a normal operative position of said barrel and with respect to said handle to a position in which said spring is held under compression against said piston so as to be capable of moving said piston with respect to said cylinder upon release of said piston by said latching means, an actuator means connected to said trigger means for disengaging said latching means from said piston when said spring is held under compression. 